The rapid expansion of business units in many provinces in Indonesia brings a question of whether these pesantren are one venue for economic empowerment. The scholarship linking the pesantren to economic empowerment is very limited; it simply focuses on the implementations of the business units and the success or failures of the companies in people's development. This essay discloses the rationale and mechanisms behind which the involvement of pesantren in economic empowerment activities takes place in the microfinance framework. Utilizing a qualitative literature review and focusing on the concept of social capital, it was deduced that the reason why pesantren is involved in microfinance activities draws its impetus from its institution's mission to strengthen Islamic teaching, achieve independence from the state, and reap benefits for the community around the pesantren. Three principles are transferred to the students who, later, are already alumni. They are welcomed back by the community, in particular surrounding pesantren and broader society, to build trust and network that may help in improving the financing based on pesantren. It is the state, as an authoritative entity governing public space, that stipulates formal legal prerequisites for its emergence and incorporation with the pesantren to issue permits so as to align with the ethos of pesantren within the BMT framework.